Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen (L) and Myanmar's State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi inspect the guard of honor in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on April 30, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Lay)
PHNOM PENH, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Tuesday rolled out its red carpet for Myanmar's State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi on her official visit to the kingdom in order to boost bilateral ties.
Suu Kyi was warmly greeted by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen with a brass band and guard of honor at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia.
The two leaders held talks with a focus on cooperation in economics, culture, tourism, religion and education, Eang Sophalleth, an assistant to Hun Sen, told reporters after the meeting.
"Both sides agreed to promote these important sectors and entrusted the relevant ministers of the two countries to continue working together to boost cooperation in these sectors," he said.
Meanwhile, Hun Sen also announced to provide 10 scholarships to Myanmar students for the academic year 2019-2020 and thanked Myanmar for allowing Cambodia to build a Buddhist monastery there and offering scholarships to Cambodian monks, the assistant said.
To date, 94 Cambodian Buddhist monks have graduated their studies from Myanmar, he added.
Trade and investment relations between the two countries are still relatively weak. In terms of tourism, some 22,500 Myanmar visitors came to Cambodia in 2018, an 18 percent rise year-on-year, according to Cambodian tourism data.
Suu Kyi said this was her first visit to Cambodia and she was confident that through the visit, the bilateral relations would be further strengthened and expanded, according to Sophalleth.
Suu Kyi arrived in Cambodia on Monday for a three-day visit.
She is scheduled to pay courtesy calls on Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and other leaders on Tuesday afternoon before flying to northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province, where she will visit the Angkor Archeological Park, a world heritage site.
Cambodia and Myanmar established diplomatic relations in 1955.
